(a) Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to a cooker or oven that is particularly useful for processing meats to produce smoked meats. More particularly, but not by way of limitation, to a smoker oven that releases innocuous amounts of smoke from the meat preparation process.
(b) Discussion of Known Art
The pleasing flavor of the smoke from certain woods has long been appreciated and sought after in the processing of meats. Still further, many baked cooked products are particularly rich in flavor at the moment that the cooking or baking process is completed. At this point the flavors imparted by the cooking or baking process and the natural flavors and juices imparted by the meat and spices are at an optimum state for consumption. After the cooking process has been completed, the taste of the meat begins to deteriorate due to the effects of other living organisms and the effects of chemicals that make up the air around the meat.
In order to savor the finished cooked or baked product, the consumer has to have access to the product as it is being produced. However, this has been rather impractical for products such as smoked meats. Known meat smokers produce large amounts of smoke, which means that these smokers must be used outside in well-ventilated areas. The fact that these smokers must be used outside makes these smokers impractical for use at the point-of-sale. Thus, there remains a need for a device that can be used as a point-of-sale cooking device that can produce smoked meats, such as jerky.
An example of a known device that can be used as a cooker at the point of sale is found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,167,797 to Bollich. The Bollich device includes a pair of compartments. One compartment is used for creating smoke, and the other compartment is used for holding the meats that are to be processed and exposed to the smoke created in the other compartment. The Bollich device presents a stand-alone system for preparing smoked meats, but suffers from the limitation that the system must be vented to the atmosphere due to the direct release of smoke used in cooking.
A review of other known devices reveals that there remains a need for a smoker, cooker that can be used in enclosed areas, such as convenience stores. There remains a need for a smoker that can be used indoors and does not require the ventilation a duct leading to the outdoors or the use of a hood, as may be found in many restaurants.
Still further, there remains a need for a slow cooker oven that can be vented directly into an enclosed structure such as a convenience store, and thus allow the use of the device at a retail establishment such as a retail store. To aid in the selling of the products manufactured with the use of the slow cooker, it is desired to provide a cooking system that vent the aroma of the cooking meats onto the sales area, and thus trigger the appetite of passers by.
There remains a need for an oven that can be used in enclosed areas and which can efficiently circulate the air and smoke within the oven to produce uniform flavoring and uniform heating of the meat being cooked within the oven.
It has been discovered that the problems left unanswered by known art can be solved by providing an oven that includes:
a housing having an internal cavity;
a support frame that supports a jerky rack, the support frame being suspended from the top portion of the housing; and
a heater located below the support frame.
According to one example of the invention a smoke source is positioned immediately over the heater, in the lower portion of the internal cavity. This will allow an amount of smoke released in the lower portion to rise to the support frame to expose any jerky on the jerky rack to the smoke.
Additionally, it is contemplated that a low volume of flow of air will be created by providing apertures on opposite ends of the oven. A fan will be positioned near one of the apertures, and will be used to pull air from the oven through a filter and then out into the area where the oven is being used. The size of the apertures, and hence the flow rate through the oven, may be controlled by providing a mechanism to adjust the size of the apertures or the number of apertures that are used to allow air into or out of the oven. The control of the airflow through the oven can be used to control the moisture of the cooked jerky or other food products cooked in the oven.
Still further, it is contemplated that a set of removable support racks will be used to support the food items being processed. The support racks will support the food items at an angle that is less than ninety degrees to the horizontal. This angled orientation will allow rotation of the food items along a plane that is parallel to the horizontal, and thus use the shape or surfaces of the food items to create or bolster the flow or circulation of air or air and smoke within the oven. The angled support may be achieved by providing angled support surfaces on the racks themselves or by positioning food supports on the racks in order to achieve the angled orientation.
It is further contemplated that the food support racks will hold the food at an angle, the longer dimension of the food items extending horizontally along the plane of the rack. In other words, an elongated, rectangular piece of meat being processed into jerky will be positioned with its long axis parallel to the horizon and the shorter ends at an angle to the horizon to create that fan blade effect. It has been discovered that this arrangement not only produces a fan effect, but also allows grease to flow off of the meat without concentrating on an end of the meat. Still further, it has been discovered that the movement of the frame with the support rack greatly reduces hot-spots and over-exposed flavored areas, especially when using food products to create a fan-blade effect. This results in evenly cooked, evenly flavored finished product.
Still further, it has been discovered that by leaning the food items at an angle, especially when the food items are in sheet form, the processing eliminates the accumulation of moisture or fluidized fat on sections of the meat. The angled support allows these fluids to run off the food being processed. This is distinguishable from known devices that hold strips in a vertical, straight up and down manner, with encourage accumulation of run-off fluids and seasonings at the lower ends of the meat or other food products being processed.
It should also be understood that while the above and other advantages and results of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings, showing the contemplated novel construction, combinations and elements as herein described, and more particularly defined by the appended claims, it should be clearly understood that changes in the precise embodiments of the herein disclosed invention are meant to be included within the scope of the claims, except insofar as they may be precluded by the prior art.